JAKARTA/ BANDUNG
My flight to Jakarta was delayed 3 hours due to the worsening smoke and haze, so it turned out to be a very long day sitting around inside KL airport. The airline I was travelling on (Lion air) gave everyone meal vouchers because of the delay which I thought was pretty generous of them until I realised that they were only valid at Burger King :(, just as well I’d brought my own food. By the time I landed in Jakarta it was already dark and I was feeling pretty unwell, mainly from inhaling so much pollution over the last week, so the bus ride into town seemed to take forever. Eventually I managed to find someone on the bus with good enough English who was able to tell me when we arrived at the bus stop that I was supposed to get off at to meet my couchsurfing host.
LOVING HUT
Lunch at Loving Hut
The next morning I was feeling a little better after catching up on some rest but still not well enough to go out exploring too far a field from where I was staying. As Loving Hut was the only vegan restaurant within walking distance I headed over there for lunch even though I wasn’t particularly hungry. I ordered the plainest most boring looking thing on the menu, noodles with stir-fried veg and tofu and a watermelon juice. It was ok, a little oily but I think that only bothered me because I already felt like crap, I did feel a lot better after the watermelon juice. I spent the rest of the day wandering around in the very unpleasant heat trying to find internet that actually worked, 4 hours later I finally gave in and found myself in a Starbucks ordering and extremely overpriced iced tea just so I could use their slower that slow wifi. Loving Hut Jakarta Plaza Semanggi Lanti 3A, Jalan Sudirman Kav BANDUNG My couchsurfing host Adel had the next few days off work and offered to drive me around to see a bit of Java so we headed to Bandung, a 5 hour drive (2 if the traffic is good). Bandung is a slightly smaller version of the uber ugly concrete jungle of Jakarta. My host Adel isn’t vegan or vegetarian and didn’t know where any of the good restaurants were (there are 2 vegan ones in Bandung) and since she and some of her friends were driving me around I had to just eat where they ate which meant a diet of rice and cucumber for the 2 days we were travelling, thank god I had bought a large tub of almonds spur of the moment just before we left Jakarta.
Sulphur lake
Tea plantations near Bandung
The area around Bandung is very scenic and much cooler thanks to the higher altitude, we passed through many rice and tea plantations and was surprised to find out that it is also strawberry and blackberry growing country. We visited a beautiful but very smelly sulphur lake (sorry don’t know the name) and then travelled on to another lake, this one much bigger and more touristy (with Indonesian tourists). It was very misty and reminiscent of Lord of the Rings but very stunning and quite fun to walk around, we also went on a boat trip to a little island in the middle of the lake and ate some corn on the cob. Before driving back to Jakarta (and being stuck in one of its famous traffic jams for several hours). Next morning I was up at 5am 😦 for the marathon bus ride to the airport to catch my flight to Medan in northern Sumatra.
MEDAN
Most guide books will tell you that Medan is one of the most horrible cities in the entire world, I had also been told by a number of people that Medan locals are some of the rudest and angriest in Indonesia, so I wasn’t too sure what to expect when I got off the plane. I was couchsurfing in Medan as well and since I was in a hurry to get to my hosts house, as it was already 3pm and I was starving so I splashed out on a taxi (rp70 000 $7). On arrival I was happy to find that my host Juli had already made lunch and she and my fellow couchsurfers (3 vegetarians from Argentina) were all sitting around the table waiting for me. No picture as I was way too hungry. Everything was vegan (YAY), and it was the 1st proper meal I had had since leaving KL 4 days earlier so of course everything tasted like the best thing I had ever eaten. Juli had prepared a number of traditional Indonesian dishes (veganised) including gado gado, a dish with a tofu/ tempeh base then covered with lettuce and green beans with a spicy satay sauce poured over the top. There was also some deep fried tempeh, stir-fried noodles with vegetables and some battered/ deep-fried banana and vegetables. After a much needed afternoon nap, at the suggestion of a couchsurfing host who is a devout Buddhist, we walked to the largest Buddhist temple in Medan and one of the largest in Sumatra. Juli later explained that Medan has one of the largest Chinese Buddhist populations in Indonesia (that explains why there are so many veg/vegan restaurants). After a guided tour by Juli’s vegan friend Rainbow (her real name) we went to the temple’s vegetarian restaurant for dinner. Rainbow was kind enough to point out all of the vegan dishes for me (most of them). I piled up my plate with a very spicy but delicious dry tempeh curry, some more gado gado, strir-fried vegies and some rice which still only cost rp17 000 ($1.70).
Temple garden
Yummy dinner from Buddhist temple
Day 2: was spent exploring the city of Medan with my fellow couchsurfers, we walked around a photography exhibition but were soon accosted by some friendly local uni students that wanted to interview us for an assignment and get their photos taken with us. Afterwards we went to a large shopping mall (Sun Plaza), partly to escape the unbearable heat, but also to stock up on supplies at the supermarket. I’d promised to bake a vegan cake for dessert because host Juli was trying to become vegan but having a hard time giving up eggs and wanted to learn how to bake with out them.
Vegan mango cake
The cake turned out better than expected given that I couldn’t measure out any of the ingredients because there was no measuring jug so had to just guess and it was cooked in a portable camping oven. I made a mango and chocolate cake. Day 3: My new Argentinean couchsurfer friends left 1st thing in the morning as they planned to hitch hike to Bukit Lawang, so since it was just Juli and I she offered to show me around a little bit more of Medan and then go to a vegan restaurant for lunch, so we jumped on her motorbike and hit the streets. The 1st stop was Rainbow’s house to drop off a few slices of the vegan cake I’d bake the day before, then we cruised around the back streets around the Buddhist temple, which looks and feels like a completely different city to the rest of Medan. The houses are much bigger, the streets very clean and it was much greener, there are about 2 or 3 other veg/vegan restaurants nearby as well, and there were even mango trees on virtually every corner. We then stopped for a brief stroll around a local market and ended up trying some local vegan dessert at Juli’s suggestion. It was a rice pudding with burnt sugar, and various other things I don’t know topped with coconut milk, it was very sweet but very good.
Yummy vegan dessert from markets
SOCRATES
Being one of the more classy vegan establishments in Medan, Socrates is a tranquil haven away from the hustle and bustle of the city and a heaven for any vegan in the area. Juli and Rainbow both told me it was the best vegan restaurant in Medan so of course I had to see for myself. After my pre lunch dessert at the markets I wasn’t super hungry but I knew I had a long day of travelling ahead so thought it best to cram as much in while I had the chance. Juli and I ordered a few things to share, rice, steamed broccoli, some satay kebabs (vegan version of the ones you find at street stall everywhere in Indonesia, and an unusual but very tasty papaya flower salad that is a specialty of the area (very different to the ones in Thailand). We both got fresh juices too, all the food was as fresh as can be and super tasty, I was certainly impressed with the food and would go back there for a meal anytime.
Lunch at Socrates
Vegan ice cream
They also had small single serve tubs of vegan ice cream, I got the raspberry flavour for dessert, wasn’t exactly the nicest vegan ice cream but figured it was the only one available in Sumatra. Everything including drinks cam to about rm115 ($11.50), another reason why Indonesia is a great place to come, it’s ridiculously cheap.
Socrates
Jalan Airlangga 14C,
Medan
I went back to Juli’s to get my bags and say my goodbyes, then got a ride in a becak (like a tuk tuk) to the bus station, however when I arrived I was told that all the tourist buses to Berastagi were full so they sent me a few km down the road to get the public bus. I eventually found the right bus stop and made it just as the bus was about to pull out so I quickly jumped on board and with the sound of Indonesian reggae blasting out of the stereo at an eardrum shattering volume I was finally on my way to Berastagi. The public bus was far from comfortable ( anyone over about 4 1/2 ft should expect to have their knees up around their ears for the duration of the journey), but they are a great way to mix with the locals and experience the culture 1st hand. By the time we drove through the outskirts of Medan the bus was so rammed with people that they couldn’t get the door closed so someone had the job of standing next to the door with one hand wrapped around a seat and the other holding onto the door to prevent it from flying open, I was very thankful I had a seat at the back.
BERASTAGI
The 3 hour bus ride thankfully went fairly quickly and before I knew it I was hailing the driver to stop and was trying not to be bulldozed over by my very large and heavy bag as it was passed down to me by a boy on the roof. I hadn’t booked accommodation yet so I just walked up the street until I found a guesthouse. Berastagi is quite a nice and very non touristy market town in the highlands about 70km from Medan. It’s at an altitude of around 1300m so it has a much more pleasant climate and is also one of the main fruit and veg growing regions in northern Sumatra. I quickly settled into my rm 60 000 ($6) a night room and then went for a walk to check out the town and find somewhere to get dinner, it didn’t take long. Just a few doors down from my guesthouse I found a Chinese restaurant called Terang so popped in to check out the menu, one of the staff spoke pretty good English so I was able to explain my dietary needs to him. I ordered stir-fried veg with tofu and some rice. It wasn’t the most exciting meal ever but it was cheap, vegan and filled a hole so can’t complain. Afterwards, I walked up the hill towards the town monument and discovered a large fruit and vegetable market so decided to stock up on some local (and dirt cheap) produce. The mangos cost around 20 cents each, I also got some bananas, carrots and an avocado and spent a total of $3. Day 2: I was up early mainly thanks to the next door mosque blasting out the call to prayer at the glorious time of 4am, after a quick breakfast of fruit I got a map from reception and headed for the nearby volcanic mountain Sibayak. The walk to the start of the trail was quite pleasant, weaving through farmland and a few small villages. The trail to get to the top of the volcano looked pretty straight forward on the map (don’t they always?) and there was a road for the 1st 2 1/2 hours, so strolled along admiring the scenery.
Trail up Gunung Sibayak
The 1st part goes through a bamboo forest which then gives way to more dense jungle, finally I reached the end of the road and was surprised to find that there were multiple paths all with no signs. I spent a few minutes looking around trying to decide which one to take when I heard a noise and turned around just in time to see a very large (unidentified) primate running away up a hill. At 1st I thought it was a person because it was so big but soon saw its brown fur and shorter legs. Just then 2 more hikers turned up so we all carried on together choosing to take what looked like the most well trodden path. A bit further down the trail we came to the conclusion that this wasn’t the path we were supposed to take to the volcano but a different path leading up to the next door peak. It got narrower and narrower, and became very steep, and rugged, it had rained quite heavily the night before and the clay ground was very slippery.
By this stage we were having to crawl along on our hands and knees, using the vines to pull ourselves up the slope under all the dense vegetation, but decided to carry on towards the top. Eventually the vegetation gave way to a rocky outcrop and we were greeted by a tremendous view across miles of farm land around the town of Berastagi, just as we felt a few raindrops falling from the sky. Quickly we turned around and made our retreat back down the “path”, guided by a few tissues we’d tied around trees along the way just to be sure we didn’t take a wrong turn. Thankfully the sky cleared again and we made it back down to safety and caught a bus back into town. Disappointed I didn’t get to see any of the volcanic part I decided to come back the next day and go on the correct path which an old local man had pointed out to us on our way to the road.
Day 3: I woke up early the next morning adamant on climbing Sibayak again and hopefully seeing the volcano. Still a bit tired and sore from the previous days expedition I decided to get the bus to where the actual path began which saved me about an hours walk. The climb seemed to go quite quickly and before I knew it I was back near the top where the path diverged into numerous ones. By this stage I’d been joined by a fellow trekker who happened to be staying at the same guesthouse as me so we both turned up the narrow slit in the sandstone which led to the volcano path.
Volcanic Sibayak
A few more corners later the vegetation gave way to a rocky landscape that more closely resembled the surface of the moon, and the tell tale smell of the volcano hit our nostrils. We met up with a few other climbers at the bottom of the crater and after a bit of photo taking we all started heading towards the very top of the peak. There wasn’t a path any further up so we had to find our own way up the steep and very loose rocks being careful to avoid the hot spots where steam and sulphur were gushing out. It was quite steep so it took about another hour to get to the top, using my hands to slowly crawl up. 
Views from the top of Sibayak
The view was spectacular, looking down into the crater and in the distance we could see mount Sinabung (the more difficult of the 2 volcanic mountains near Berastagi). We stayed up there for a while taking photos, then had some lunch before carefully making our way back down. We decided to take a different path down, it was a slightly longer way detouring past some hot springs (if you call man made squares of concrete hot springs). At 1st it didn’t seem too bad, but after a while it got very steep and slippery thanks to the rain a few days before so the descent seemed to take forever. Several hours later we eventually found ourselves back on the road and went to check out the rather over-rated (and overpriced) “hot springs”, but decided to give it a miss figuring that we were more likely to end up becoming the attraction. My fellow hiker wanted to walk the 15km back to town, but I was feeling a bit sunburnt and tired, not to mention hungry and after trying to find a bus for around 30 minutes to no avail I decided to hitch-hike, eventually getting a ride with a lady and her son on what ended up being a very terrifying motorbike ride, at high speed, darting in and out of the heavy traffic and almost being taken out by more than a few trucks. I was very relieved when she stopped to let me off outside my guesthouse and ambled my way into the restaurant to order some food.
Dinner from guesthouse
I got the lemon fried tempeh that I’d been eyeing off the day before, and a vegetable curry with rice. It was worth waiting for, the tempeh was super moist and delicious and the veg curry was good too. Although it was quite a large amount of food, I had absolutely no problem eating it all and got through it in no time. Feeling much better (but still extremely sunburnt) I headed back to my room to pack and have an early night before my marathon 7 hour bus ride to Ketambe the next morning.
KETAMBE/ GUNUNG LEUSER
The main reason I had wanted to come to Sumatra was to see Orang-utans, and get away from civilisation for a bit. After countless hours of internet research I’d finally decided that Gunung Leuser national park in the province of Aceh would be the best place to go. Most tourists in Sumatra go to the overly touristy ex rehabilitation centre of Bukit Lawang to see Orang-utans but after lots of research and talking to many people who had been there (tourists and locals) I decided to avoid it all together. I had heard many stories about staff and tourists patting and handling the orang-utans when they are supposed to be trying to help them adjust back into the wild after a life of captivity. Although the centre relies mainly on tourist generated income for its survival, the orang-utan population in that area have been put at considerable risk by the tourists as the close contact with humans significantly increases the chance of transmission of human diseases which is one of the main causes for their declining numbers (deforestation being the other). As Bukit Lawang is also no longer an active rehabilitation centre, the orang-utan population there are instead, from what I heard essentially just kept tame and reliant on humans for food in order to be exploited as a tourist attraction which is something I definitely did not want to support. I wanted to see them where they belong even if that meant the possibility that I may not see any. Since the devastating tsunami that struck Aceh and surrounding areas a number of years ago the area has become essentially a no go zone for many tourists. Despite Gunung Leuser having one of the largest populations of wild orang-utan, not to mention it being one of the most biologically important and diverse places on earth, many visitors to Sumatra barely notice it even exists, let alone go there.
This is exactly what made it so appealing to me, being well off the tourist trail, I had the chance to see orang-utan and many other animals in the remote unspoilt wilderness of a national park away from the crowds, it definitely seemed like it would be a more authentic experience. I left my guesthouse in Berastagi early with the hope of reaching Ketambe before sunset so I would have a bit of time to relax and get organised for my 3 day jungle trek. However, because it was the school holidays I ended up sitting on the side off the road for 3 hours watching all the full beyond capacity buses pass by until I finally found one with an empty seat. By the time I reached Kutacane where I had to change buses (the nearest town to Gunung Leuser) it was already after 5pm and I still had another 2 hours of travelling to reach Friendship guesthouse who I had organised my trek through. I eventually arrived at around 7:30pm, tired and hungry, just as it started to pour with rain. I had picked this guesthouse because they were able and happy to cater for a vegan tomato free trek, the owner Ahmad had also emailed me a copy of the restaurant menu, in which there were plenty of yummy sounding vegan options. That night I ordered the veg fried rice for dinner, it was huge and way better than I had expected with a delicious smoky flavour and lots of fresh vegies.
My jungle cabin
Breakfast
I stayed in a cute little wooden hut with ensuite (toilet and a tap with a large bucket to wash), I had it all to myself for rm 50 000 ($5) a night, it was situated between the restaurant and the river surrounded by fruit trees.
Day 1: Next morning I was up early (thanks to an over-enthusiastic rooster), after one final check of my bag I made my way up to the restaurant for breakfast and to meet my guide Byune. I had a fresh watermelon juice and fruit salad with muesli. It was still raining with no sign of clearing so I borrowed a raincoat, and after making sure my leech socks were done up as tight as possible Byune and I headed up the road in the rain. We walked along the road for around 40 minutes before turning up a very narrow track into some dense and very wet and muddy jungle. For the next 2 hours we weaved our way up and down the steep, slippery and quite rugged trail, stopping every 10-15 minutes to pick off the army of leeches that were intent on making us their next meal. Around lunchtime we reached the bank of a large river where we would be camping for the night. We set up the tent and then started a fire to cook our lunch of curried veg and noodles. The sky was slowly starting to lighten a little, and by the time we finished our lunch it was only drizzling lightly, but thanks to the dense canopy , of the rainforest we didn’t feel it that much. Leaving our bags at the campsite we headed back into the jungle in search of some animals, it didn’t take long, within 10 or so minutes we spotted a family of Thomas leaf monkeys, we stopped for a few minutes to watch them, then we continue on up the trail. A few minutes later knew my guide said he could smell orang-utan (really?) and he swiftly headed off ahead in direction the smell was apparently coming from. I went as fast as I could trying not to slip in the mud and still having to stop constantly to pick of all the leeches. As I was doing so I heard some very loud Jurassic park sounding noises and saw Byune signalling me to come quickly, I quickly followed him up at a small clearing to where Byune had stopped and was pointing upwards, I looked up a saw a large male -utan (apparently the alpha male of the area as I was told later), in the top of a huge and magnificent old tree with a 10m high archway at the bottom.
My 1st Orang-utan sighting
Thomas Leaf monkey
In the trees next door we soon also spotted 2 female orang-utan and a toddler aged baby. We stood watching them feeding on fruit and happily playing and swinging from branch to branch for nearly an hour, the baby spotted us too and spent a good 10 minutes or so staring back at us with an equal amount of curiosity. On the way back to the river we saw more Thomas leaf monkeys, Macaques and a pair of hornbill, which are huge and intriguing looking birds with incredibly loud wings that sound more like a helicopter about to land. Byune made a veg curry with rice and some tapioca chips for dinner. Day 2: Despite the lack of 4am prayer calls and roosters I still woke up quite early to the sounds of the gushing river and sunlight (yay), I went down to the river to quickly splash some water on my face to wake myself up then had a bit of a wander around the immediate area looking for animals while I waited for Byune to wake up, I found lots of leeches (or they found me rather), there were also lots of butterflies and various other insects.
Jungle breakfast
After a very yummy breakfast of veg fried rice with tempeh we packed up all the camping gear and made our way further up the river bank. I as excited to be headed for the hot springs I’d heard so much about from other travellers but in order to get there we had to cross the river which about waste deep and flowing quite rapidly thanks to all the rain. The rocks on the bottoms were very slimy and slippery but we made it over safely, tried off then continued on. Around 30 minutes later we ran into a couple of other hikers who told us they had seen an orang-utan another 5 minutes up the trail so we carried on. 
We quickly spotted a young and very fat male orang-utan having a nap in a tree about 20m above us. Eventually he woke up and started picking off and snacking on the berries from the tree he was in, he also noticed us. Curious, he moved along the branch and into a clear patch only about 15m away from us in order to get a better look at us, which also gave me the perfect opportunity to get a few good photos of him. After 15 minutes or so he disappeared into the trees towards the calls of his nearby friend. The remainder of the trek to the hot springs seemed relatively easy compared to the previous day, the path had dried up a fair bit and there weren’t anywhere near as many leeches (I only got about 20 on me the whole day, compared with 20ish every hour on the 1st day).
Hot springs and camping spot
As we turned the corner I saw the steam from the hot springs and was soon greeted with the stunning sight of a small waterfall where the hot springs flows out the side of a hill, mixing with the cool river water making it the prefect temperature for a dip. We didn’t wait long to go for a swim, heading straight to where Byune said was the best spot in the river, the water was around 30 something degrees and was really enjoyable after several days of hot and sweaty jungle trekking and no shower. Byune and I happily sat in there soaking for the best part of 2 hours before deciding it was lunchtime.
Butterflies gathering near the hot springs
After our curried veg and noodles we set up camp and I spent the rest of the afternoon napping on the heated rocks, watching leaves boil in the hot part of the river and watching the large number of bees and butterflies that were around the river, attracted by the sulphur. After a late and very dark dinner we played a few card games, a large frog also jumped on my knee and hung out for a while, then we headed to bed.
Day 3: I was just settling in to life in the jungle, and by my 3rd and final day I’d stopped worrying about getting attacked by leeches (there were still plenty around) and was now happily running around with no shoes on. Today I had the choice between going a little further up the river to see a waterfall or retracing our steps a bit to try to find more animals, I chose the latter figuring I could see waterfalls anywhere but may not get the chance to see Indonesian wildlife again for a while. We had a breakfast of veg fried rice again (no tempeh as it had gone bad in the heat), then packed up and headed back down river to where we had crossed the day before. After crossing we hid our bags in the bushes (apparently some locals have been known to come and help themselves to anything they find lying around sometimes). We walked around for probably about an hour, the forest was strangely quiet as most animals were in the midst of their afternoon nap, we saw a few orang-utan nests and plenty of birds. It was around 1 or 2pm and we were getting hungry by this stage so were about to go back to the river when we (Byune at least) smelled an orang-utan, so following the smell, we ended up back in the same place near the big tree where we had seen the orang-utan family on the 1st day. 
The big alpha male was high up in the tree eating fruit, he then spotted us and starting playing the game of throw fruit at the humans. We watched him for a little while until he disappeared behind the dense canopy of the forest and then we went back for lunch. We’d eaten most our vegie supplies so our last jungle meal consisted of noodles with chilli, and a bit of stolen rice from some other hikers camping down river. After a couple of hours lazing around in the river and a bit of tree climbing, we grabbed our bags once more and made our way back to the big tree. The male orang-utan was still there eating, and he was also joined by a female and her toddler baby (possibly the same ones we’d seen on day 1) who were in nearby trees.
baby orang-utan
The baby was particularly curious and climbed about 20m or so down the tree to a clear patch so he/she could watch us for a while before deciding it was time for a nap and moving away to build a nest. With only a couple of hours of light left we headed back towards the guesthouse, eventually finding the road. Seeing such large clear spaces and cars again was weird and not very pleasant. Already I was longing to get back into the green tranquillity of the forest but I was also looking forward to eating something other than noodles back at the guesthouse. I had the same room as before so after washing some of my dirty clothes I headed keenly up to the restaurant and ordered a vegetable and tempeh curry and gado gado. Both were good, but the curry was especially good, with lots of fresh vegies, coconut milk and big slices of tempeh, it was easily one of the best curries of my time in Indonesia.
BACK TO BERASTAGI
My plan was to head to Lake Toba for a few days of rest and relaxation before returning to “normal” life of studying in Australia, but getting there from Ketambe is a lengthy (12 hour drive) and tiring ordeal, so decided the best way to get there would be to go back to Berastagi for 1 night and then carry on to Lake Toba the following morning. It was a bit of an ordeal getting a bus from Kotacane, for some reason there either weren’t any buses or they were all full because of the holidays. After about an hour of walking around asking every travel agent I found, no one seemed to know where the right bus station was or couldn’t speak enough English to tell me. I was eventually pointed in the right direction by some guy passing on a motorbike who stopped to ask if I needed a ride. For the first 1 1/2 hours of the journey I had the whole bus to myself, just when I’d gotten comfy and was excited about finally having a smoke free trip a large family taking a very sick old lady to hospital in Medan got on. Since the old lady needed to lie down I ended up in the front of the bus next to the driver which is probably the scariest seat because you can see all the near misses with passing vehicles on every corner. I thankfully made it back to Berastagi in one piece and checked back into Losmen Sibayak, the same guesthouse I had stayed at the week before.
Next morning I fancied the fruit salad with coconut for breakfast which turned out to be an excellent choice, a huge plate piled high with fresh tropical fruit and topped with grated fresh coconut, yum! They were out of tempeh again so I got some coconut rice and deep fried cauliflower to eat on the road. As there was no local bus directly to Lake Toba and still being rather tired from all the travelling I’d already done, I decided to splash out on the tourist bus for the rest of my journey. It turned out to be $$ well spent, there were only 2 others so for once I wasn’t cramped into a corner, it was non smoking and it also stopped at a few touristy attractions on the way including an overly touristy Batok village and a waterfall, but it was nice to have the opportunity to get out and stretch my legs a few times during the 5 hour journey.
Traditional Batak house
LAKE TOBA/ TUK TUK
Lake Toba
I got the ferry over to Samosir island where I was planning to stay, I didn’t have accommodation booked yet as I’d heard it was best to just turn up and check out a few places before deciding. So I went for a stroll around and eventually checked into a place called Bagus Bay on the edge of town over-looking the lake. I’d heard Toba Cottages had pretty good vegan food and since it was only 20m up the road I wet there for dinner. I order a mixed fruit juice, fried tempeh and the rending veg curry. Everything was really nice as usual, a little pricier than other places but still only about $5 for the whole meal.
Fried tempeh from Toba Cottages
Rendung curry from Toba cottages
Nice views at Toba Cottages
Day 2: I’d seen on happycow that there was a vegan restaurant on the other side of the island, it had pretty good reviews so thought it was definitely worth a visit.
Batak stone circle
I also wanted to get out of the over touristy, run down and tacky beach resort feel of Tuk Tuk so I rented a bike and cycled northwards, stopping at a few of the Batok villages and stone chairs where the locals used to torture and behead their enemies before eating them (they’re mainly Christian rather than cannibals these days thanks to some Dutch missionaries).
BUDDHA CAFE
The beautiful Buddha cafe
Roughly 10km up the road I found the vegan restaurant but they were still closed and it was only 10.30am, way to early for lunch so I continued cycling along through numerous tiny villages and some beautiful farmland for another 15km. I’d just decided to turn around and head back to the café for lunch when I ran into a guy I had met and gone hiking with up Sibayak in Berastagi so I stopped to chat to him for a while then cycled on to the restaurant.
Set in a beautiful garden right on the lake filled with flowers, Buddha statues and mango trees, it was a very relaxing and refreshing place to sit after my long bike ride in the sun on what on particularly crappy bike (think pre WW2, no brakes, no gears and no suspension of any kind).
Guacomole with homemade chips
It was a hard decision on what to get but I eventually opted for the guacamole with chips and the tofu nirvana curry with rice. The guacamole was very fresh and tasty, surprisingly the chips were even better and had a wonderful herb flavour.
Tofu nirvana curry
Of course I couldn’t come all this way without sampling some of their homemade coconut milk ice cream, so I ordered the special of the day for dessert which was a banana split. I got mine with 3 scoops of ice cream; chocolate mocha coconut and
Very amazing and delicious banana split
green tea. I had expected just your average banana split so was rather surprised to discover when it arrived that it was in fact in a big bowl with chopped up banana and pineapple and star fruit, chunks of freshly baked cake, chocolate chips the 3 big scoops of ice cream then all drizzled with chocolate sauce, YUM!!
I cycled the 20km back to town feeling very full and contented. By the time I got back to my guesthouse I had gotten fairly sunburnt, my nose was stinging and I had big red patches on both my legs, so decided a dip in the lake to cool down would be the perfect way to spend the afternoon.
Day 3: I woke up feeling sore, tired and still very surnburnt from the previous day so spent the majority of the day chilling out in the shade by the pool and drinking lots of cucumber juice. I also went to another guesthouse up the road for lunch called Horas Shugary.
HORAS SHUGARY
Amazing fruit salads, not so amazing tempeh
Incredible fruit salad
I wasn’t starving so just ordered a fruit salad and a fresh mixed fruit juice. The juice was really good, not as watered down as most of the other ones I’d had and it had lots of mango in it. The real treat and surprise was the sensational fruit salad. Not only was it gigantic and was incredibly fresh and covered in fresh grated coconut and cinnamon. I was very impressed to say the least, not bad for $1.50.
For dinner that evening I got a rendung vegetable curry from my huesthouse, it was alright but no comparison to Buddha cafe.
Day 4: Before my bus trip back to Medan I went back to Horas Shugary for breakfast ordering the same fruit salad again and some fried tempeh and rice to eat on my way back to Medan. The fruit salad again was great, the tempeh however left me feeling very very unwell for almost 2 weeks afterwards with a bacterial stomach infection which also resulted in me spending the majority of my Singapore to Sydney flight several days constantly later running for the bathroom to vomit 😦 .
The bus ride back to Medan was in a nice and fairly new car rather than the usual dilapidated bus I’d been expecting, which was a real treat, especially with my stomach trying to deal with the dodgy tempeh. Miraculously I managed to avoid vomiting for the entire 5 hour drive. After being dropped off at the aptly titled Sultan Homestay (aptly titled because it was literally right next door to Sultan mosque, the largest mosque in town). Resigned to that fact that I had a very early start the next morning to get to the airport and knowing I’d be woken up by the call to prayer well before the crack of dawn, I went straight to bed, sad to be leaving Indonesia and also sad because my 7 week round the world adventure was almost at an end, all that was left was 1 day in Singapore.
Vegan travelling adventures 